Who am I?

I serendipitously ended up on the path of a marine biologist studying corals of the Great Barrier Reef despite originating from the landlocked and flat prairies of Canada. My PhD project at James Cook University (Townsville, Australia) aimed to develop an eco-evolutionary model of coral thermal tolerance in the context of thermal anomalies caused by climate change.

The overarching question of my PhD was undoubtedly:
    Will coral evolution be able to keep pace with climate change?

For more information, check out my Research tab!

Research Interests

I started as a behavioural ecologist, but now focus on evolutionary questions at the population level using mechanistic models in R and using forward genetic simulation in SLiM. Ultimately, I hope to combine aspects of both behaviour and eco-evolutionary modelling to better predict population and community responses to anthropogenic climate change.

I am also interested in other biological questions related to causal analysis, bayesian analysis, and meta-analysis; improving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in science; and improving the openness, reliability/repeatability, and transparency (ORT) of science. ​

If you are interested in collaborating on a project or seeking advice on statistical analysis, feel free to contact me.
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Ink'd!
Upon dissecting cuttlefish, take care to avoid nipping the ink sac!

Past Research Experience

I completed my BSc (Hons.) at the University of Manitoba in my hometown of Winnipeg, Canada. Here, I was fortunate to work on multiple research projects and work with many amazing researchers.

Prof. James Hare supervised my Honours project on Richardson's ground squirrel ecology, stress physiology and communication. I also travelled to Newfoundland, Canada to conduct fieldwork with Prof. Gail Davoren's lab, evaluated Bayesian vs. frequentist methods for estimating low-data matrix model parameters in Prof. Darren Gillis's lab, conducted radioimmunoassays for blood corisol levels with Prof. Gary Anderson's lab, and conducted microsats for lamprey population genetics in Margaret Docker's lab. 

I began a research-based MSc at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada with Profs. Maud Ferrari and Doug Chivers. My MSc project examined how aquatic prey such as fish and tadpoles communicate predation threats using aquatic chemicals. I also interned in the Groupe Mémoire et Plasticité Comportementale/l'Université de Caen-Normandie in France with Prof. Ludovic Dickel.

I was supervised by Profs. Sean Connolly (Smithsonian Institute), Mia Hoogenboom (JCU), and ​Madeleine van Oppen (University of Melbourne/AIMS) during my PhD at JCU.

Coding and Teaching Experience

I have 10+ years of experience coding in R for data analysis and statistical modelling. I previously tutored first year to Master's level statistics in R at JCU, was a lecturer for first year statistics, and taught advanced modelling subjects at JCU during my PhD. I was a chair and repeat presenter for the JCU CodeR coding club, and have previously been an instructor for the Queensland Cyber Infrastructure Foundation's (QCIF) Software Carpentry R course, delivering lessons to researchers across Queensland.